A few weeks ago, the internet exploded after Nobel laurate Tim Hunt allegedly made some rather sexist comments about the place of women scientists in the laboratory. The details are sprinkled all over the internet and aren’t particularly difficult to find, so I’m not going to summarize it here. Louise Mensch has written a lengthy essay investigating the story and has produced a fair amount of evidence that nearly all the initial claims against Hunt are fraudulent.

I will readily admit that I haven’t kept up with the story since it broke; my own reaction was to grumble about regressive views in science, make a few #DistractinglySexy jokes, and move the issue to the back of my mind when I was distracted by something else. I suspect I am not alone in that regard. Given my unfamiliarity with the matter, I don’t feel like I’m qualified to comment much on the veracity of Mensch’s report, but I do believe it needs to be shared and that anyone even slightly interested in women in science or online shaming ought to read it.